Keep our vital records safe

September 07, 2005

Vital records were being lost, destroyed and left unprotected by state officials in charge of preserving and safeguarding the information they contain, leaving us wondering what we paid them to do, if they weren't doing their jobs.

According to a recently released audit of activities, the state health department's Bureau of Epidemiology did not periodically check that hospitals and local clerks and registrars protected vital records and blank documents used to make them.

Among this vital record information are things such as birth certificates and adoption records and marriage licenses from foreign countries.

In other words, the information we are required by law to produce and reveal was - still is- left open for identity thieves to mine and steal, potentially allowing criminals to create fake birth certificates to get another form of ID, such a driver's license to generate a false identity.

Michigan Office of the Auditor General audit covers bureau records and activities between Oct. 1, 2001, and June 30, 2004, and cites a litany of shortcomings - including regular destruction of documents in 30 days when they are supposed to be stored for three years. On top of that, the bureau failed to make microfilm copies.

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The office also had difficulty with physical preservation conditions such as relative humidity in its vaults, which hold more than 11 million birth records.

This information is important in other less obvious ways, as the bureau's own Web site states: "While a primary purpose for collection of vital records is to record information on vital events for legal purposes, vital records files also serve as an important source for statistical information."

If these records are destroyed or lost how can anyone generate or verify statistics?

The bureau cries poverty, saying it does not have the manpower (records are just one of its functions) and resources to do the job the way it is supposed to, so we guess that we should let them off the hook in these days of tight budgets, right?

No, we shouldn't.

The Michigan Office of the Auditor General said in its report that regular security reviews would reduce the risk of registering false documents or providing vital records to unauthorized individuals.

The bureau also says it intends to address its shortcomings and feels regular security reviews, recommended by the audit, are unnecessary.

We disagree. Michigan residents have the right to have their vital records kept and kept safe, especially in a time when identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the country. If the record keepers can't keep up, regular security reviews are essential.